Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum & Animation Art Gallery

 We went to Cape Cod last week to visit a friend and on our way home, we stopped at the Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum in Cheshire, CT. I have wanted to go there for a few years, but we normally left on a Sunday and the museum is closed on Sundays. 

Museum History

Let's start with a brief history! Founded by Herb and Gloria Barker, Barker Animation Art Gallery had it's grand opening in 1993 in West Hartford, CT and was moved to Cheshire, CT a year later. The museum was opened in September 1997. They collected toys by going to yard sales in the 1970s. There are approximately 80,000 items in the collection, with pieces from 1873 to present day. 

Gloria & Herb Barker

Both Herb and Gloria Barker have passed away, but their son, Gerry, and grandson, Max, have taken over the business to keep the collection preserved and available for public display. 

Gerry & Max Barker

The Grounds

As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I knew this place was going to be amazing! They had wooden cutouts of characters all over the grounds and the buildings were painted with characters! We parked near the cutout of The Jetsons! 

The coolest thing is that the cutouts were painted on the back too!

There was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the well.

Looney Tunes on one of the buildings. 

And some more hanging out on the grass with Dagwood and Blondie.

Lucy was ready to help make you feel better! 

The Scooby gang were unmasking people! I wasn't able to stand near this as it had yellow caution tape around it. It was so cool to see the gang outside, though!

There was also a Yogi Bear head made out of wood. It had his face on both sides. 

There was a mural on the wall that had some fun characters on it, from Mighty Mouse, to Popeye, to The California Raisins. On the end, Scooby was riding in a convertible with Betty Boop, Sylvester, Gumby and The Pink Panther and Garfield and Odie were next to the car. Tweety was in a space ship above them. 

Of course, seeing Scooby on the mural was my favorite part!!! 

Barker Animation Art Gallery

After looking at what they have outside, we headed into the Animation Art Gallery to buy our tickets to the museum. 

Everything in the art gallery was for sale, and I found a bunch of Scooby-Doo stuff that I wanted. A few things came home with me, but sadly, the rest I left there. 

Hanna-Barbera Picnic

Jonny Quest and Speed Buggy cels.

Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes cels.

Cel of Scooby & Shaggy signed by Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera and Iwao Takamoto.

Cel of Scooby.

Cel of the gang with villains.

I really wanted all the cels, but especially the canvas of the painting "An Orchestra of Stars". It was so awesome! I posted the picture of the lithograph below because it was difficult to take a good picture of the canvas. 

These Dr. Seuss head mounts were really cool! 

This Jonny Quest lithograph was in the bathroom. 

These are the Scooby items I ended up buying. Trust me, I wanted those cels and prints so bad! But after being on vacation, dropping another few thousand dollars on those would not have been good. 

Bendable Figures of Fred, Daphne and Velma and Scooby-Doo postcards.

Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum

I have waited for this moment for years...to walk into this museum and see the collection of toys, games and comics! It was more than I could have asked for. They had so many different character toys and games. It brought back so many memories of shows that I watched as a kid and it just made me feel happy. 

Whenever I go to a museum like this, my goal is always to find Scooby. They had plenty of Scooby throughout the museum. When I bought the tickets, the girl told me that they recently acquired someone's Scooby collection and I was very excited for them because this museum is a great place for a collection to be! 

I spotted my first Scooby as soon as I walked in. A Scooby-Doo clock. The price tag on it was to show the value at the time they put the tag on it. I don't know if they update that often. With over 80,000 items in the museum, I think that would be difficult. Also, nothing in the museum is for sale, so the price is just for reference.

The next Scooby items spotted were a racecar, a Mystery machine and a car set.

I skipped a couple rows to give some other people space to look around and happened to pick the right one because there was a case with a whole bunch of Scooby stuff! So many Scoob's that I don't have, and some that I do, all on these 2 shelves! It was perfect! 

There wasn't just Scooby, of course! So many characters lined the shelves of this amazing space! 

Tom & Jerry and some older toys.

The Jetsons.

The Flintstones.

More Flinstones.

Even more Flinstones.

Huckleberry Hound, Spiderman, Captain America, The Flintstones and more.

More Tom & Jerry.

Push puppets! with a Scooby!

Cereal Boxes.

Bugs Bunny and Kool Aid.

Gumball Machines, including Scooby!

There were a ton of lunchboxes hanging from the ceiling featuring every character you could think of. These are just a few of the ones I took pictures of. 

Purple Scooby-Doo lunchbox.

Scooby-Doo yellow and orange metal lunchboxes.

The infamous yellow and orange metal Scooby lunchboxes...in amazing condition!

They had so many puzzles!!

A wall of puzzles!

They had a bunch of Halloween masks and costumes too. 

Even a Scooby-Doo one!

The entire Simpsons family was here hanging out on their couch. 

I also found another display shelf of Scooby stuff!

The museum also had some promotional props from Gumby by Art Clokey. It was so cool to see these amazing clay figures! 

The View Master display was so cool, too! 

I found Scooby within the display!

There were a few more Scoob's that I found through the rest of the museum. 

The Incredible Hulk was there too! Thankfully, he was chained.

I also found a Dynomutt puzzle!

Some more Hanna-Barbera toys. I think some of these were used in the bumpers. 

My pictures barely even show what was in the museum! They have thousands of items on display! I didn't post the close-up pictures of the Scooby displays as I don't want to give everything away. They had some really cool pieces that I have never seen before. 

Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum

I highly recommend the Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum to anyone that loves cartoons! They have something for everyone! They put a lot of care into the museum and the art gallery and they really make you feel welcome. The next time I am near CT, I will definitely be making another trip to this museum and would love to do one of the group tours! Admission was $13.00 for 3 of us, which was very affordable! 

For more information about Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum and the Art Gallery, please visit their website. 

I did not receive anything in exchange for this blog post. I just loved the museum so much, I wanted to write about my experience there. 

John Dusenberry Interview - SCOOB! Story Artist and Head of Story on SCOOB! Holiday Haunt

Talking to John Dusenberry was amazing! He was so much fun to talk to, had amazing stories and he really knows a lot about movies and TV shows. He had some amazing things to say about the people he worked with, too! 

John gave us some information about the original SCOOB! movie that we didn't know and he talked about how he felt about SCOOB! Holiday Haunt being cancelled. We had a 3 hour conversation with him, and we enjoyed every second of it! The initial interview was an hour and 20 minutes, but we were all enjoying the conversation so much, we talked for another hour and a half. 

In addition to his animation work, John also teaches story writing at NarrativeFirst.com. You can book your time slot with him through the website. 

Keep using #SaveScoobHolidayHaunt and be sure to sign the petition. 

You can watch our interview with John Dusenberry on YouTube or check out the podcast version wherever you listen to podcasts. 

John, we hope you make it back to the Academy Awards some day! 

YouTube:

Podcast:

Scoob! Holiday Haunt CANCELLED

Yesterday, we all received some bad news that Scoob! Holiday Haunt was cancelled. I thought it was a joke at first, but then when Tony Cervone and Michael Kurinsky confirmed the news, my heart sank for all the people that have put their time and energy into making this movie. They had both said the movie was almost finished, so why would they can it? If you don't want to release it on streaming, release it as a direct to video release. I know a ton of Scooby fans that would buy it on DVD. 

If WB is worried about not making enough money on it, well, cancelling it means they won't make any money on it at all and the movie was almost done, so they've already put a lot of money into its production. Release it on DVD and make some money from it.  

The way Hanna-Barbera properties are treated by Warner Bros. is a shame. People love HB cartoons, and WB refuses to do anything with them. They could be making shows and movies with the characters, they could open a physical HB museum, create merchandise... They have a lot of possibilities, but they choose to ignore the characters. All they have to do is go on social media and see how people love the characters and would love to see reboots of a lot of them. Instead, they ignore the HB fans. 

After receiving the news about Scoob! Holiday Haunt's cancellation and stewing about it a bit, we jumped on to Zoom to chat about it. As disheartening as this news was, being able to vent to your friends about it is a blessing! Especially when we all respect each other's opinions. There were no eye rolls or sighs that we would get from people that aren't big Scooby fans. 

There is a petition that Bill Haller's son made to save the movie! Bill Haller is one of the co-director's on the movie. Please sign it! 

Also, please use #SaveScoobHolidayHaunt on your social media posts! 

Let us know what you think of the movie's cancellation and what you think it means for the upcoming Velma and Mystery Pups shows. 

I hope you enjoy our discussion. 

YouTube:

Podcast:

A Scooby-Doo Question and Answer Game

On today's Scooby Panel episode, we decided to do something totally different. Actually, this wasn't even recorded as a panel, but I knew ahead of time that it would be turned into a panel. 

Alexa from the Unmasked History of Scooby-Doo Podcast and I decided that during one of our Scooby chats, we would come up with some questions, similar to the game Table Topics. We did not tell anyone what we were doing. The invite simply said:

"You're Invited!

Date: Sunday, June 12

Time: 3pm Eastern

Place: Zoom

We will be doing a Scooby Zoom call, but this is going to be structured! Join us as Alexa and I host a little Scooby party! Bring your own Scooby Snacks and come have some fun. This won't be run like a panel, but it will eventually be a Scooby Panel episode. Let me know if you can make it. Zoom link will be shared later!"

Alexa and I came up with some quick warm-up questions first, followed by the actual questions. 

And Scooby Panel #34 was the result!

Web Series Version

Podcast Version

This was a lot of fun to do. Learning about each other and sharing our love of Scooby-Doo is what makes doing the panels so awesome! We finally found a safe place to talk about Scooby where no one is rolling their eyes or tuning us out. We are all excited to hear what each other has to say. It's amazing! 

Check out the panel and let us know your answers to the questions that were asked. And stay tuned because part 2 is coming...eventually!

REVIEW: Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who? The Complete Second Season

 “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.”

Just a quick note, this review is about the disc set and not about the individual episodes. 

Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who? The Complete Second Season was released digitally and on DVD in the US on June 28, 2022 for $24.98 and will be released in Canada on December 6, 2022 for $29.98. I have not heard about the release dates in any other countries.

Let's first take a look at the cover of the DVD set. It's interesting that they did a little play on "Guess Who?" in the title by making everyone look so confused. I don't mind the way that Shaggy, Daphne and Velma look, but Fred looks angry confused and Scooby just looks so off. His eyes are bugged out, the wrinkles on his head made him look like he has a comb-over and what is with his hand? He has paws, not human hands! I just cannot get past the hand!! 

I do like the thumbprint background they used and especially the purple color, which really makes everyone stand out on the cover. Though I might have switched Fred and Daphne as Daphne's hair kind of blends in a little with Velma's shirt. 

Disc 1 has Scooby on it, in that same crazy pose as the front cover. The disc includes: 

1. The Horrible Haunted Hospital of Dr. Phineas Phrag!

Celebrity guest: Kristen Schaal

 

2. The Phantom, the Talking Dog and the Hot Hot Hot Sauce!

Celebrity guest: Kacey Musgraves

 

3. The Hot Dog Dog!

Celebrity guest: Joey Chestnut

 

4. A Moveable Mystery!

Celebrity guest: Gigi Hadid

 

5. The Feast of Dr. Frankenfooder!

Celebrity guest: Alton Brown

6. A Fashion Nightmare!

Celebrity guest: Tim Gunn

7. Scooby On Ice!

Celebrity guest: Tara Lipinski

Disc 2 has Shaggy on it with that same confused look he has on the cover and includes: 

8. Caveman on the Half Pipe
Celebrity guest: Chloe Kim

9. The Crown Jewel of Boxing!
Celebrity guest: Laila Ali

10. The Internet on Haunted House Hill!
Celebrity guest: Liza Koshy

11. The 7th Inning Scare!
Celebrity guest: Macklemore

12. The Dreaded Remake of Jekyll & Hyde!
Celebrity guest: Sandy Duncan

13. The Last Inmate!
Celebrity guest: Morgan Freeman

14. Lost Soles of Jungle River!
Celebrity guest: Jason Sudeikis

Disc 3 has Velma on it and includes: 

15. The Tao of Scoob!

Celebrity guest: Lucy Liu

 

16. Returning of the Key Ring!

Celebrity guest: Sean Astin

 

17. Cher, Scooby and the Sargasso Sea!

Celebrity guest: Cher

 

18. The Lost Mines of Kilimanjaro!

Celebrity guest: Jessica Biel

 

19. The Legend of the Gold Microphone!

Celebrity guest: Reverend Run

 

20. Total Jeopardy!

Celebrity guest: Alex Trebek

Disc 4 has Daphne on it and includes: 

21. Scooby-Doo and the Sky Town Cool School!

Celebrity guest: Billy Dee Williams

 

22. Falling Star Man!

Celebrity guest: Terry Bradshaw

 

23. Dark Diner of Route 66!

Celebrity guest: Axl Rose

 

24. A Haunt of a Thousand Voices!

Celebrity guests: Frank Welker, Kate Micucci, Matthew Lillard, Grey Griffin-

 

25. Scooby-Doo, Dog Wonder!

Celebrity guest: Dynomutt and Blue Falcon

 

26. The TV and Movieland Monsters!

Celebrity guest: Carol Burnett

I was very excited to have the gang artwork on the discs, but my main question is...WHERE IS FRED???? Why didn't he make it onto a disc? They could have put Scooby and Shaggy on one disc, like they have done so often in the past, and then the 4th disc could have been for Fred. But they left him off! Poor Fred! 😔

My other pet peeve regarding the discs is that they don't lock into place in the case, so when I open the case I have to be really careful that none of them fall out. Disc 4 is the only one that seems to be secure in the case. I don't know if the sets sold in stores are more secure. 

People often ask about the languages on the discs. Audio is available in English and Spanish and subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French. 

There are no special features on the discs at all. They could have done some fun interview clips with the guest stars or behind the scenes type stuff, but there is nothing. Not even a trailer for the series! Are special features a thing of the past? 

The back of the box has another picture of the gang with scared/surprised looks on their faces. There is a synopsis of what is on the discs and a list of the episodes, 26 episodes in all for a total of 582 minutes. 

The synopsis reads:

It seems like everybody wants to be one of those meddling kids, and a different pop-culture icon joins the Mystery Inc. gang in every episode of Season 2 of Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who? Get Sleuthing with Scooby-Doo, Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy - because they'll need all the help they can get if they want to solve these mind-boggling mysteries. So who's on board? Terry Bradshaw gets off the bench to tackle a case, Axl Rose rocks some monsters, and Jason Sudeikis has villains laughing out loud! And Kacey Musgraves, Tim Gunn, Cher, Jessica Biel, Macklemore and many more sign on for spooky, side-splitting fun. See if you can guess who's next!

 I would definitely suggest buying this if you like to have physical media in your collection like I do. I know my review isn't the most positive, but keep in mind I am only reviewing the DVD set on it's own, this doesn't include my review of the episodes, and really the content is why I buy the sets! I like to have them in my collection and be able to watch the episodes whenever I want. 

There are some really great episodes on this set!  Like Total Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek. Wow! That was an amazing tribute to him! A Haunt of a Thousand Voices with the voice actors - Frank Welker, Kate Micucci, Matthew Lillard, Grey Griffin. How awesome to see them in an episode and interacting with the characters they voice. Plus they brought back Cher and Sandy Duncan, who were originally on episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies. Season 2 was definitely my favorite season of the series!

Have you purchased your copy? If so, what do you think of it?

We Eat Foods From the Scooby-Doo Series Just To See What They Taste Like

When I think of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, I think of best friends who get scared and like to eat a lot of food. What better way to celebrate their love of food than by attempting to eat it ourselves! 

On the Scooby Panel, we do food episodes every 10th episode...and since we just released our 30th episode, that means we have had 3 food episodes...3 episodes where we tasted a few of the crazy concoctions that the loveable Great Dane and his best friend have come up with. 

Since no one else was eating the foods from Scooby-Doo, I thought it would be fun to add it into our panel rotations. Though before I was brave enough to do it on the panels, I talked to Jordan from theartofscoobydoo and I gave him the idea to make a couple of Instagram videos eating a couple of the foods. He also happily joined us on the Scooby Panel for the first food panel. 

So far, we have covered the food of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Scooby-Doo Show and The New Scooby-Doo Movies. It seems that with each series we do, there is more and more food!

In our most recent panel release, our third food panel, the food of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, we tried chocolate pizza (mentioned in The Ghastly Ghost Town) OR pizza with sausage, pepperoni, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream (anchovies optional) (The Phantom of the Country Music Hall), a sandwich with peanut butter, jelly, meat, cheese (ketchup, mustard, pickle, mayo, banana optional) (Guess Who’s Knott Coming to Dinner) and grapefruit covered in whipped cream, marshmallow, chocolate syrup and a cherry (The Haunted Candy Factory).

I think this has got to be one of the most fun panels we have done! We had a great conversation about the food. Wendy made her foods look amazing! Devin went all out with preparing his foods! He made them look just like the foods from the show...tall sandwich and all! Leah was a great addition to the panel as well, she was very knowledgeable and so much fun to have on!

Watch our latest food episode here:

In our first food panel, the food of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, we tried a chocolate covered hot dog (A Clue For Scooby Doo), chocolate dipped corn on the cob (Jeepers It's The Creeper) and Scooby Snacks.  

In our second food panel, the food of The Scooby-Doo Show, we tried licorice pizza (mentioned in The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face), a sauerkraut sandwich topped with whipped cream and a cherry (The Chiller Diller Movie Thriller) and a peanut butter, mozzarella cheese and ice cream sandwich (The Chiller Diller Movie Thriller). 

I never thought I'd be trying the foods in the episodes. I'm not one to eat weird foods! It had been quite interesting and while the foods haven't all tasted good, the food panels are a fun way for us to try something new together and do something different on the panels. 

I am so excited about where the Scooby Panel has gone! I have talked to some amazing Scooby fans about Scooby-Doo and we have had 2 to 4 hour conversations! It's been great! These food episodes are so much fun and also kind of weird haha, but a great way to bond with other Scooby fans! 

I'm excited to see what other Scooby-Doo foods are in our future!  

SCOOBY-DOO™ and the Gang Come to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis! Press Release

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis SCOOBY-DOO™ Mansion Mayhem exhibit opened on June 4, 2022 and runs through January 22, 2023. Join the gang to solve a mystery in the mansion! 

The pictures I have seen so far look interesting. Will you be going to check out the exhibit? I'm excited to check it out with some of my Scooby friends!!! 

Here is the press release:

 

Adventure Awaits When SCOOBY-DOO™ and the Gang Come to The Children’s Museum

All-New Exhibit Opens June 4, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 “Ruh-Roh” SCOOBY-DOO™ and the gang invite families to solve a gem of a mystery at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis when SCOOBY-DOO™ Mansion Mayhem exhibit opens June 4, 2022. This immersive experience, in partnership with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment, allows families to join the members of Mystery Inc. to analyze clues and put their problem-solving skills to the test. Families and young detectives will work through the rooms of the mansion meeting different characters of the iconic TV show that has captivated fans for more than five decades. Unmask the jewel thief and discover secrets of the mansion.

In the Hall of Portraits, meet Daphne—the brave, fashion savvy member of the gang. Comb through moving eye portraits to discover the villain’s hidden control panel that creates spooky illusions. In the Villain’s Tinkering Workshop, work alongside Fred, the group’s calm and collected leader, to build a trap for the villain. Green glowing clues appear to help along the way! Shaggy and his lovable canine pal SCOOBY-DOO™ can be found in the kitchen of course, where families participate in the iconic ghost chase and create many more delicious memories. No mystery can be solved without the help of tech-savvy Velma in the library music room. Solve a musical puzzle on the organ and use the Clue Analyzer to get a visual of the villain.

“We are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment to create the multigenerational SCOOBY-DOO™ exhibit. It highlights what we value at The Children’s Museum. It is not only a fun challenge for our visitors, but it provides a unique educational experience,” said Jennifer Pace Robinson, president and CEO, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. ‘SCOOBY-DOO™ and Mystery Inc. teach families and children that with teamwork, courage, and ingenuity, even the toughest mysteries can be solved.”

 

Be sure to gather the family around for a photo op that all generations will enjoy–a photo with The Mystery Machine! The Mystery Machine, on loan from Warner Bros. Archives, was one of four that were initially made for the live-action movies SCOOBY-DOO (2002) and SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASED (2004).  

SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements © & ™ Hanna-Barbera. (s22)

SCOOBY-DOO™ Mansion Mayhem  is presented by F.A. Wilhelm Construction. It is supported by Donatos Pizza and Delta Dental. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is proud to partner with Riley Children’s Health, Old National Bank and Ice Miller LLP.

About Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment:

Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment (WBTE), part of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Brands and Experiences, is a worldwide leader in the creation, development, and licensing of location-based entertainment, live events, exhibits, and theme park experiences based on Warner Bros. Discovery’s iconic characters, stories, and brands. WBTE is home to the groundbreaking global locations of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, WB Movie World Australia, and countless other experiences inspired by DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby, Game of Thrones, Friends, and more. With best-in-class partners, WBTE allows fans worldwide to physically immerse themselves inside their favorite brands and franchises.

About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org,  follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Instagram@childrensmuseum, YouTube.com/IndyTCM, and Facebook.

 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kimberly Harms                                                         Leslie Olsen

Director of Media and Public Relations                     Public Relations Manager

317-334-4003                                                             317-334-4007

317-809-5203 (cell)                                                    317-508-6065 (cell)

kimberlyh@childrensmuseum.org                             leslieo@childrensmuseum.org